Posterior lip of external os of uterus

Labium posterius

  • Related terms: Posterior lip

Definition

The vaginal portion (portio vaginalis [cervicis]) of the cervix projects free into the anterior wall of the vagina between the anterior and posterior fornices. On its rounded extremity is a small, depressed, somewhat circular aperture, the external orifice of the uterus, through which the cavity of the cervix communicates with that of the vagina. The external orifice is bounded by two lips, an anterior and a posterior, of which the anterior is the shorter and thicker, although, on account of the slope of the cervix, it projects lower than the posterior. Normally, both lips are in contact with the posterior vaginal wall.

References

Gallery